This weekend I became inspired to challenge myself with another goal. For those that know me well it’s no secret that my cooking skills leave something to be desired. In my defense though I have to say I’ve come a long way in the last 5 years, precisely the amount of time I’ve known my husband (this is no coincidence). It’s even a little joke among my family that I could have easily learned how to cook had I not preferred to have my face stuck in a book as a kid while my mom cooked and my brother learned instead (he’s a great cook too of course). It’s tough enough being a woman and not having much cooking/baking skills but add to that the fact that I’m Mexican and well it becomes rather embarrassing and not to mention a treat for my family to hear my kitchen anecdotes.

So back to my inner Top Chef (I absolutely love watching this show). I know I have it somewhere inside me I just need to put the time and practice to learn. This weekend I finally gave myself the push that I needed. You see it was my brother’s birthday this weekend and my mom and sister in law made my brother’s favorite meal Friday night and my mom mentioned how I really should learn how to make this dish. And really I should, especially because my sister in law (who is caucasian) knows how to make more signature Mexican dishes than I do (and quite well!). So I told my mom that twice a month on Fridays, while my husband goes to class in the evening, I’d like her to come over and show me a new dish.

I’m really looking forward to this not only because I’ll be learning some of my mom’s recipes but also because it’ll give my mom and I some quality time. I’m very close to my mom and like to see her often and unfortunately when school starts a lot of my free time gets absorbed with homework & studying and so I think consciously putting aside this time will be good for both of us. 

It’s time I set aside my defensive approach when it comes to being in the kitchen and that I embrace the fact that I may just be able to come up with some delicious food, or at the very least have some very funny stories to share here.